LINCOLN, Neb (KMTV) — A new year means a start of a new legislative session and coming off of an election year, 17 new faces in the Unicameral.
All but one of those incoming senators is serving their first term in the legislature.
“I am very hopeful with this new class. What I see is people who came here to learn and came here to problem solve,” said Speaker John Arch.
Despite having so many new faces the political make up of the 109th legislature is essentially the same as the 108th.
Republicans hold a 33 vote majority in the non-partisan body and in recent years have used that numbers advantage to push conservative bills on issues like abortion and bans on gender affirming care.
Their main roadblock in fast tracking conservative legislation has been the filibuster but that could be changing this year.
“The legislature needs to debate those controversial bills but at the same time we need to learn how to debate those controversial bills,” said Arch.
While no specific rule changes have been floated yet Senator Loren Lippincott, who was elected as chair of the rules committee on Wednesday, suggested limiting how long a filibuster can last or reducing the number of votes needed to end debates.
“We need to have our ears open, our eyes open and see if there are better ways to handle the filibuster here in Nebraska in order to move legislation along more smoothly,” said Senator Loren Lippencott.
After the rules priority number one for the body will be tackling the budget.
The state is currently looking at a $432 million dollar budget deficit and Pillen had promised in 2023 to reduce the budget by 6% in 2025.
Cuts will likely have to be made if the gap isn’t closed but Arch said it’s still too early to say what programs or departments might see those cuts.
“He has always intended to find efficiencies but where those efficiencies can be gained I assume we will see those when we see his budget,” said Arch.
